Mountings for furniture legs



Oct. 22, 1968 H. MUTCHNIK ET AL 3,406,935

' MOUNTINGS FOR FURNITURE LEGS s Sheets 1 ENTQRs [76-May C'H/v/K Ma u/n/ 44 [WK BY 2 I A'IT RNEY Oct. 22, 1968 v T H ET AL 3,406,935

MOUNTINGS FOR FURNITURE LEGS Filed Aug. 2, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 7; 1 I: 'a, M

INVENTORS flew/er Mu 7"Cfl/V/K M54 V/A/ Murcxm/uc ATT RNEY Oct. 22, 1968 H, uTc ET AL 3,406,935

MOUNTINGS FOR FURNITURE LEGS Filed Aug. 2, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 1n II! 25 41A mvmons flan/er MUTCH/V/K M54 um/ MUTG/l/V/K ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,406,935 MOUNTINGS FOR FURNITURE LEGS Henry Mutchnik and Melvin Mutchnik, both of 5804 Gist Ave., Baltimore, Md. 21215 Filed Aug. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 569,610 6 Claims. (Cl. 248-188) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A wedge fastener assembly for detachably interconnecting wooden or metallic furniture legs to the underside of a piece of furniture by providing a pair of sheet metal wedges disposed in substantially vertical planes at the upper end of the leg which are adapted to be moved rectilinearly into wedging engagement with a pair of U-shaped channels afiixed to the underside of the furniture unit in alignment with said sheet metal wedges.

This invention relates to mountings for furniture legs and particularly to secure wedge coupling between furniture legs and pairs of mounting brackets therefor.

It is the object of the present invention to provide wedge couplings between the ends of furniture legs and the undersurface of furniture units which makes possible a rigid and strong interconnection between the component parts without need for any additional bracing between the furniture legs and the furniture units.

It is another object of the invention to provide strong and rugged sheet metal wedges at the ends of furniture legs which may be shipped with the furniture units in a knockdown state and which may be assembled rapidly at the point of utilization to obtain a leg mounting which is long lasting and which may be readily dis-assembled when this is desired, and reassembled at any subsequent time.

The sheet metal wedges in accordance with the invention are adaptable to all types of furniture legs whether these are formed of metal or wood and are adapted to cooperate with pairs of retainer brackets to receive and retain the wedges on the furniture legs securely, so that the legs are held against rotary motion and tilting without any need for supplementary bracing, as is common in the furniture art. The substantial area of contact between the end of the furniture leg and the underside of the furniture unit between the pairs of retainer brackets contributes to the tight interconnection between the parts.

The invention proceeds upon the principle of providing a pair of parallel sheet metal wedges at the end of a furniture leg of generally trapezoidal shape with one of the ends of the pair of lesser depth than the other. A pair of receptacle brackets are affixed to the underside of the furniture unit and are provided with channels which are disposed in parallel and displaced a distance corresponding to said wedges. The depth of the channels decreases from one end thereto the other, and the channels are of generally trapezoidal shape, corresponding to the shape of the wedges. The legs are adapted to be detachably interengaged with the retainer brackets by a rectilinear movement of the end of the leg and the wedges mounted thereon relative to the channels, and the end of the wedges of small depth are introduced into the end of the channels of maximum depth, and the wedges are driven into the channels as far the inclinations of the inclined edges of the wedges and channels will permit, to obtain a tight fit therebetween. The sheet metal wedges may be withdrawn from the retaining channels by a reverse movement to effect a disengagement of the table leg from the furniture unit.

3,406,935 Patented Oct. 22, 1968 "Ice Other objects and purposes will appear from the detailed description of the invention following hereinafter, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein,

FIG. 1 is a front elevation showing the interconnection of a table leg with the underside of a furniture unit shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the underside of the furniture unit with the retainer brackets aflixed thereto, preparatory to the interconnection of a furniture leg therewith;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation showing the interconnection of a wooden table leg with the underside of a furniture unit shown in section, and illustrates another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view along line 7--7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view along line 88 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the underside of a furniture unit with retainer brackets aflixed thereto preparatory to the interconnection therewith of a wooden table leg, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.

In the drawings is shown a metallic tubular leg L which is detachably interconnected to the underside of a fumiture unit F, which may be a table, chair, or any other furniture component. The end of the leg L is provided with a pair of sheet metal wedges 2 and 2 forming part of a male member, which are designed to cooperate with a pair of retainer channels therefor, C and C, constituting female members and forming parts of retainer brackets R, R, respectively, which are affixed to the underside of the furniture unit F, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 2. As shown in this figure, the wedges 2, 2' constitute flanged extensions on the opposite ends of the base 1 which is affixed to the end of the furniture leg in any suitable manner, such as by soldered or welded joint 6. Of course, the leg L may be affixed to the base 1 to dispose the former at an inclination to the vertical, as shown in FIG. 1, or the same may extend perpendicularly from the base 1 if a perpendicularly mounted leg is desired.

As shown in the drawings, the sheet metal wedges 2 and 2' taper from one end to the other. They are of generally trapezoidal shape, having the horizontal bases coincident with the base 1 and the edges 3 and 3- opposite the bases tapering at a slight inclination to impart to them the outlines of tapered wedges having the forward ends 4 and 4' of lesser depth than the rear ends 5 and 5', respectively.

A pair of retainer brackets R are affixed to the underside of the furniture unit and are fitted with U-shaped channels C, C which are disposed in parallel and displaced a distance corresponding to the distance between the sheet metal wedges 2., 2' forming part of the furniture leg. Preferably, the channels are of slightly greater length than the wedges.

The retainer brackets are in congruous or mirrored relation, and while each is identical in construction, they are disposed in right and left relationship in order that each may receive and retain a corresponding one of the wedges on the end of the furniture leg.

The retaining brackets R and R are formed with horizontal mounting flanges 11, 11', respectively, each of which is provided with openings 17 therein for the reception of fastening screws 18 to rigidly secure the retaining brackets to the underside of the furniture unit. The U-shaped channel C (FIG. 3) extends downwardly from the large end of the channel to the small end 16 thereof. and 14 which are displaced by a base 13 which tapers from the large end 15 of the channel to the small end 16 thereof. Similarly, a receiving channel C in the retaining bracket R extends downwardly from the mounting bracket 11 and is formed by displaced walls 12 and 14' between which extends the tapered base 13 from the large end 15 to the small end 16 of the channel.

The slope of the edges 13 and 13 of the channels C and C correspond to the slope of the edges 3 and 3', respectively, of the wedges 2 and 2 of the male member.

Thus, in order to effect the assembly of the table leg with the furniture unit, the retaining brackets R and R are first affixed to the underside of a furniture unit, which may be done with a templet in order to assure the proper positioning thereof and the correct displacement of the receiving channels. Thereafter, the furniture leg is interengaged with the mounting brackets therefor by moving the leg rectilinearly in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2 so that the forward ends 4 and 4 of the wedges 2 and 2 are moved into the entry ends 15, 15 of the channels C and C, respectively, and this movement is continued until the wedges are completely seated within the channels. This assembly movement not only assures a tight fit of the leg against the underside of the furniture unit by the wedging interconnection afforded by the trapezoidally shaped wedges and channels, but the disposition of the wedges 2 and 2 in the channels precludes a rocking or tilting of the leg in a direction normal thereto, namely, to the right or left in the position of the leg mounting illustrated in FIG. 3. In addition to the rigid nesting of the wedges within the channels, the substantial area of contact between the upper face of base 1 and the undersurface of the furniture unit between the brackets results in a connection of high stability. Thus, a secure interengagement between the leg and the furniture unit is effected very quickly, and this connection is so secure that no additional bracing is necessary. This results in a tremendous economy in the fabrication of the furniture units for mass production.

The base 1, which is aflixed to the end of the furniture leg, may be provided with one or more openings 7 for receiving fastening means therein to secure the leg against retrograde movement until such time that a disassembly of the leg from the furniture unit is desired.

The advantageous features of the sheet metal wedge and channel interconnection may be realized in many different ways for all types of furniture legs, and the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 9 shows the sheet metal wedge coupling applied to a solid wooden furniture leg of rectangular cross-section.

In this embodiment the wooden leg L is slotted on the opposite faces near the end thereof at 20 and 20, for the reception of wedge mountings which will dispose wedges 22 and 22 for cooperative action with channels C and C of the retaining brackets R and R, which are adapted to be mounted on the underside of the furniture unit in a manner identical to that described in connection with the preceding embodiment.

As clearly illustrated in FIG. 8, the wedge mounting for wedge element 22 may be provided by horizontal flange 21 which is adapted to be seated within the slot 20 of the leg from which the vertical face 27 extends upwardly. This face 27 is provided with a plurality of openings 28 for the reception of fastener screw 29 to afiix the wedge mounting to one surface of the leg. The wedge 22 is bent from the end of the edge of face 27 opposite to the flange 21, with a bridging displacement therefrom represented by portion 26. This portion is horizontal for proximate juxtaposition with the underside of the furniture unit. However, the edge 23 of the wedge 22 opposite the portion 26 is inclined, to form the forward edge 24 of lesser depth than the rear edge 25. The portion 26 is necessary in order to accommodate the outer wall 14 of the channel C as the wedge 22 is moved into the channel between walls 12 and 14 thereof, as shown in FIG. 8.

The wedge unit on the opposite surface of the table leg is formed correspondingly and the parts are identified by corresponding reference numerals which have been primed (FIGS. 8 and 9).

The wedges 22 and 22 may extend downwardly from the end of the wooden leg L by fastening, in any other suitable manner, the metallic pieces from which the wedges are bent. Thus, in some cases the seating flanges 21, 21' within the slots 20, 20 may be eliminated.

While We have described our invention as embodied in specific forms and as operating in specific manners for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that we do not limit our invention thereto, since various modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

We claim:

1. A furniture leg mounting comprising a pair of laterally displaced parallel sheet metal tapered wedges affixed to the end of a furniture leg adapted to be connected to the underside of a furniture unit, a pair of parallel U-shaped channels displaced from each other and affixed to the underside of a furniture unit, the displacement of said channels corresponding to that of said wedges, said wedges and channels adapted to be detachably interengaged by a rectilinear movement of said end of said leg with said wedges affixed thereto relative to said channels, said channels being of decreasing depth relative to the underside of said furniture unit from the ends of entry of said wedges to effect a wedgin g fit between said sheet metal wedges and said channels at the limit of said movement, and said channels having lateral outwardly extending mounting flanges with openings therein for fasteners passing through said openings and into the underside of the furniture unit.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the channels are at least as long as the wedges.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said wedges extend downwardly from the opposite edges of a sheet metal plate atfixed to the end of the furniture leg, with the main portion of said plate between said wedges adapted to abut the underside of said furniture unit between the inner edges of said mounting flanges.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said wedges extend downwardly from the end of a wooden leg of rectangular cross-section, said wedges forming part of metallic pieces having portions thereof aflixed to the opposite surfaces of said wooden leg.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 wherein said lastmentioned pieces include portions recessed into the opposite surfaces of said wooden leg.

6. A furniture leg mounting comprising a pair of laterally displaced parallel sheet metal tapered wedges affixed to the end of a furniture leg adapted to be connected to the underside of a furniture unit, said wedges being disposed in substantially vertical planes beyond the boundaries of said leg, a pair of parallel vertically disposed U-shaped channels adapted to be afiixed to the underside of a furniture unit in displaced relation from each other, the displacement of said channels corresponding to that of said wedges, said wedges and channels adapted to be detachably interengaged by a rectilinear movement of said end of said leg with said wedges aflixed thereto relative to said channels, said channels being of decreasing depth relative to the underside of said furniture unit from the ends of entry of said wedges to effect a wedging fit between said sheet metal wedges and said channels at the limit of said movement.

(References on following page) 5 References Cited 3,142,467 7/1964 Mutchnik 248188 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,175,794 3/1965 Beene 248-488 2,762,671 9/1956 Hirsch 108--156 972306 ?f 2,869,950 1/1959 Boccone 248-188 X 5 3,061,392 10/1962 Cooper 248--188 CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner. 

